If you have read of my trip reports, you probably noticed that I rarely hike with others. And last year I posted an article titled, Solo Backpacking: Crazy and Dangerous?

Recently I read an article by someone who likes to hike solo, except in winter, where for him, it makes sense to hike with others. Nothing wrong with that. But in this article he explains that planning a trip required conference calls, agendas, posted gear lists and itineraries on Google Docs, and all kinds of collaborative endeavors. Seems like a lot of work and aggravation to go on a weekend hike. Giving it some thought, I realized that solo hikers generally need a certain type of personality to enjoy solo backpacking. This personality type is not superior to those who like to hike in groups. It is just what it is, and we would all probably be hard pressed to change our personality – or so to speak, to change who we are.

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